A mother just told me her son has been on remand – in prison – for almost a year after being supected of couriering an ounce of a class B drug.
The prosecution submitted a truly ludicrous valuation of this substance to the court – and they've provided no evidence to substantiate this price whatsoever, despite repeated requests from the defence.
Unsurprisingly, the defendant invested their time + money in commissioning an independent drug valuation expert. This specialist agreed that the valuation was astonishing, even saying he'd never seen anything so unbelievable with no supporting evidence.
But the mum explained that her son wants to accept this inaccurate valuation, as his Newton Hearing is months away + falsely accepting guilt is likely to allow for a speedier departure from jail.
The mum devastated that her child is taking responsibility for transporting almost a million pounds worth of drugs, but she also understands why he's so desperate to escape being on 23-hour lock-up.
FYI: this isn't some Middle Eastern dictatorship we're talking about. It's our supposedly liberal democracy here in the increasingly oppressive British Isles.
How can holding someone on remand for longer than their likely sentence be considered 'justice'? And how many other defendants are in this kafkaesque situation whereby they need to falsely admit guilt to secure a timelier release?!
#criminaljustice #legalaid #remand #drugsupply #justicematters #britain #channelislands #homeaffairs
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